Motivation Archives - Page 13 of 14

Putting the Play Back in Exercise

When I was a kid, I never had to worry about my weight.

I could eat all the food I ever wanted, yet despite my rampant sweet tooth, there was never an extra ounce of fat on my skinny, Gumby-like body.

This is true for the majority of kids (or it used to be… childhood obesity rates are at frightenly high levels these days).

Until they reach puberty—or for some kids, college—the word ‘fat’ doesn’t even enter their vocabulary. They can eat as much pizza and ice cream as their hearts desire, and they’ll suffer no noticeable repercussions.

So why is this true? Why don’t kids have to watch their weight, despite their carbohydrate and sugar-filled diets?

Sure, a big factor is their high metabolisms and growing bodies—many of which require so many calories, their appetites can barely keep up.

But the biggest factor in keeping kids slim? Play.

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Why You Should Learn a New Sport

There’s no doubt about it: doing the same thing for extended periods of time can get, well, boring.

This is as true with exercise as it is with anything else in life.

And while you’re never going to be able to get away from the rockstar exercises like squats, push ups, and burpees, you can find ways to mix up your fitness here and there.

Wondering one of the best ways to shake things up?

Learn a new sport!

It doesn’t have to be scary

Yes, I know, some of you probably have nightmare images of P.E. coming back to you when I mention anything about sports.

Maybe you were terrible at softball (I was), or sucked in golf (I did, but then again, we used whiffle balls instead of golf balls). But the beauty of being an adult is that you get to do anything you want to do.

There’s no mean old P.E. teacher anymore to tell you which sport you have to excel in. You can just have fun.

How to Crush Your Workouts

Are you mindlessly drifting through your workouts, never pushing yourself to go harder, faster, stronger?

This kind of working out won’t get you anywhere.

Because if you want to reach your goals, become healthy for life, and get fitter than you ever thought possible, you can’t just half-ass your workouts.

You have to crush it.

Give it your all

The awesome thing about interval training is that you never have to worry about pacing yourself or saving your energy for later.

If you were running a marathon or participating in a triathlon, you couldn’t just give it your all the entire time—because you’d never finish. Instead, you’d have to pace yourself, working hard to find a steady stride so that you could stay at that exact same pace the entire time and never burn out.

Not so with interval training.

With interval training, because you’re only working in spurts of maybe 20, 30, or 50 seconds, you never have to hold back.

There’s no need to pace yourself, to think about how you’ll be at it for 30 or 60 minutes—because that’s just not the case.

Interval training only works when you work harder than you ever thought possible, making your muscles scream and sweat pour during every single interval.

So don’t hold back. Run, jump, and lift like your life depended on it. Crush it.

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OMG My Thighs Are Getting HUGE!

“Krista…”

My mom called me up the other day, noticeable worry in her voice.

“I have a problem.”

My mom then explained how after nearly five months of doing some type of resistance training four or five days a week, she was starting to notice her thighs getting bigger.

“And that wasn’t exactly the goal,” she said, obviously freaking out a little.

“Calm down,” I said. “Tell me exactly what’s happening.”

“Well,” she went on, “my waist is getting smaller and firmer, but my thighs are GROWING. It’s getting harder and harder to fit into my pants!”

I laughed, and proceeded to explain.

Here’s what happens when you begin a new exercise program:

You start to lose weight and gain strength almost immediately. This makes you happy and motivates you to keep exercising.

Then you hit your first plateau. Your strength and endurance gains start to slow, and you stop shedding the pounds as quickly as you were in the beginning.

And then… here’s the scary part for women… often certain body parts start getting BIGGER.

It's Not Easy… But You Can't Give Up

There’s something you need to understand, especially if you’re new to the 12 Minute Athlete, new to interval training, or even new to working out at all.

And that something is this: these workouts aren’t easy.

In fact, they’re really, really hard.

And they’re supposed to be hard.

As someone who may have never done a handstand before, never done a strict pull up, maybe even never done a full push up, you may look at the 12 Minute Athlete workouts and think: I can’t do that.

Let me tell you a secret: I would have said the same thing even just a few years ago.

Back then, my workouts consisted of a three mile run; nothing else. I hated them. Plus, I couldn’t do a pull up (or a push up) to save my life.

And now… well, now, I feel pretty good about my fitness level. Sure, I always want to get stronger, faster, and fitter.

But really, who doesn’t?

You can do these workouts

It doesn’t matter what your current fitness level is. You can do the 12 Minute Athlete workouts.

Yes, they’re tough. But the great thing about them is that they’ll always be tough. That means you’ll never hit a plateau or get bored and stop making progress like traditional workouts.

Because the key to these workouts is that you work as hard as you possibly can.

Why You Hate Exercise—And How You Can Change That

For many people (and you might count yourself as one of them), exercise is a chore.

But here’s the truth: it doesn’t have to be.

I used to feel the same way. I’d go to the gym, waste an hour or so on the treadmill or elliptical machine… use a resistance machine or two… maybe do a few crunches.

Not only did it make me gloomy, my body never transformed the way I wanted it to.

But once I found something I loved, it completely transformed my idea of exercise.

Because here’s the thing…

Exercise doesn’t have to be torture

In fact, for many people (and I now include myself as one of them, after years of dreading it), exercise is a release. It makes people happy. It changes their lives and bodies for the better.

The key is to find something you enjoy.

Everybody can like some form of exercise. Our bodies were made to move. We were not designed to be couch potatoes.

My First Push Up (And Finding the Will to Do Anything You Put Your Mind to)

1…2…3.

I still remember that day. The day I did my first real push up. Actually, the day I did my first three real push ups, to be exact.

I was visiting my parents, so I must have still been in college. And though I’ve always acted strong and tough… In reality, I had a pretty weak upper body my entire youth.

How weak?

I didn’t get an excellent on my Presidential Physical Fitness Test in grade school because I couldn’t do a single pull up (my good friend and athletic arch rival Renee did two).

I definitely couldn’t do a push up.

And until about three years ago, my brother called me “spaghetti arms.”

Now, to be fair, I have a build somewhat like my Dad’s—we’re both tall and lanky, with long, stringy arms.

We’ve both always had a hard time getting long sleeved shirts that would cover our entire arms. In fact, my arms are so long my high school basketball coach asked me if they ever drug on the floor (I was not amused at the time).

Seven Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

How do you motivate yourself to exercise when there are dozens of things you’d rather be doing?

You know it’s good for you. Exercise helps you reach and maintain a healthy body weight, lowers blood pressure, gets rid of bad cholesterol, strengthens bones, lowers your risk for cancer, and decreases stress.

But we all know the truth: finding the time and motivation to get off the couch and work out isn’t always easy.

Here are seven ways to get—and keep—the motivation to exercise regularly:

1. Find something you enjoy doing.

Many gym-goers spend hours on the treadmill even though they hate it (this used to be me).

Yet there are plenty of other forms of exercise that can be just as (or more!) beneficial for weight loss and cardiovascular health.

Try a new class, substitute long cardio sessions with interval training, join a friendly sports team with your buddies—anything that will help you look forward to exercising, rather than dread it.

2. Keep track of your progress.

Using a journal to track measurements like weight and body fat percentage as well as progress made in your workouts will keep you much more motivated than looking in the mirror every day.

Just being able to see in print (or on the screen) that all your hard work has paid off can be the motivator you need to keep you working out on a regular basis.

3. Notice how you feel after exercise.

If you’re like most people, you may be tired and unmotivated before your workout, but feel nothing short of amazing afterwards.

If You Can Do This During Your Workout, You're Not Working Hard Enough

Are you one of the thousands of people who wastes their time in a gym on a regular basis?

I hope not.

But it’s not uncommon. In fact, I’d say it’s the norm, rather than the exception.

Practically every day, I take my dog on a walk down our little neighborhood street in San Francisco. Every time, I pass by a little gym. When I peek inside, it’s full of people on reclining bikes, elipticles and treadmills (I’ve never seen anyone lifting weights, probably because the only weights in there are two to eight pounds).

Every day, I notice something very, very wrong about the picture I see inside that little gym.

Nearly every single one of these people is reading something — a magazine, a tablet, their phone.

Reading while exercising? Don’t do it!

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried it, but reading while you do the types of high intensity workouts we do on this site is close to impossible. Whether you’re doing plyometrics, jumping rope, wall balls, or sprinting… you won’t be able to keep your eyes still enough to focus on the words.

If you like to hear stories, recent news or learn something new while you’re working out, listen to a podcast or e-book instead (I often do, though I make sure it’s something I don’t have to pay too close of attention to – This American Life is one of my favs). Don’t read a physical book.

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10 No Nonsense Ways to Get Motivated to Work Out

What motivates you to get off the couch and get moving?

Is it the desire to fit into a smaller pant size or to get a flatter abdomen?

Is it the need to burn off the day’s stress and take a few moments entirely to yourself?

Or is it something else altogether?

Whatever your reason, we all have those days when it’s just not enough… And we need a some additional motivation.

Here are 10 ways you can get that extra push and get motivated to exercise today:

1. Keep track of your progress

If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau, you’ll be less motivated to work out because, well, if you’re not making any progress… what’s the point?

To avoid this, one of the very best things you can do is to keep an exercise journal. Whether it’s an online document, or a physical journal, it doesn’t matter—the important part is that you keep track of your progress so you don’t lose perspective.

Write down your reps, your completed times, your clothing size, your weight, your fat percentage… whatever is important to you. Be diligent about keeping track. Then make sure to go back and look at how far you’ve come every once in a while to keep motivated.

2. Have an accountability friend

When it comes to keeping commitments, most of us are pretty good at following through—at least when other people are involved.

Find someone to be accountable to for your workouts, and you’ll be much more motivated to keep your goals—simply because you have to answer to somebody else and you don’t want to look like a fool.

Another way to do this is to use a website like Stickk.com where you can set your goal and put money on the line to help motivate you to complete it.

For example, you could set a goal of working out five days a week for 30 days in a row. Stickk.com will make your goal public, and if you don’t achieve it, you’ll have to pay up—either to a friend, relative, colleague, charity, or worse, an anti-charity (an organization you hate).